lululemon Immersion by Raquel Sofia

June 9, 2017

By Prism Prism

“Come get present, practice and connect with 50 other thought-provoking humans in a stunning natural setting. We promise this will be an adventure you will never forget.”

I’m going to start by saying that I know how fortunate I am. That I’m aware that opportunities like this one don’t come around every day and that all I have in my heart is gratitude towards lululemon and towards the magical forces that make crazy things like this happen. Four days in paradise, with forty-nine spectacular people, practicing yoga, working on personal development and having amazing conversations between dance sessions, trips to the beach, delicious dinners and tropical cocktails. It was like going to a summer camp for grown ups who have a desire to positively impact the world.

I got to hang out with a woman who turns stem cells into works of art, with Baron Baptiste, a living yoga legend, with a crew of pro-athletes, with the social secretary for the Obama Administration and of course, with my soul sister Isabella Acker, founder of the Prism Creative Group, community leader in Miami and creator of the most delicious avocado toasts I’ve ever had (seriously, tell her to have you over for breakfast). These are just a few people off the list, but I swear everyone I met was unique and truly mind blowing. What was I doing there? Believe me, I asked myself that same question a million times.

My name is Raquel Sofía and I write sad songs for a living. I’m not really sure how that qualifies me to rub elbows with these badass people, but hey, I’m not complaining.

You must all be thinking we just went off to some random mountain in Maui and joined a hippie cult where we spent four days getting stoned, walking barefoot and hugging trees. That would have been fun, but this was way better. This was Epic. We did yoga twice a day (I was in heaven), a Boot Camp class (I was in hell) and sunrise hikes. I swear I have muscles aching that I didn’t even know existed. In between our sweat sessions, we took personal development classes where we practiced mindfulness in order to find our personal purposes and realize our goals.

I’m going to be honest, my initial reaction to these classes was FUCK NO. “What are these people on? Do they really expect me to share my feelings, my dreams and my fears with a bunch of strangers? Do they really believe this all works?” The answer is yes, it works. I learned something really important things through these sessions: it’s really easy to go through life thinking I’m too cool for school, believing that I already know everything and dismissing things like this as lame or unimportant. It’s harder to be open, to be vulnerable, to let yourself go and that’s exactly what I decided to do. Needless to say, I’m really glad I did.

“I am here to be unapologetic.” I must have repeated that mantra three-thousand five-hundred and seventy-seven times in four days. I screamed it, I whispered it, I shared it with my new friends, I said it to myself. Standing, sitting, dancing and in downward facing dog, I said it: “I AM HERE TO BE UNAPOLOGETIC!” We all had to pick our “I Am Here To Be” and that was mine. I’m searching for my place in this world as a musician, as a woman, as a fucking human being and at The Immersion, I decided that I will never apologize for who I am or for what I want ever again.

Ok, here comes the cheesy comment of the day. Get your eye rolls ready. The best thing about The Immersion was becoming friends with people who I admire, people who are undeniably the shit. We sweated, we danced, we laughed, we grew, we were vulnerable and we were free together. I know, it sounds like I’m still sippin’ on that yoga retreat Kool-aid, but I’m being one hundred percent honest. I’m pretty sure we all left The Immersion feeling inspired and unstoppable, like super heroes, ready to take the reigns of our own lives. Thank you lululemon and everyone I met in Hawaii for giving me this beautiful gift and so many others. It was truly unforgettable.